Happily Ever After
by Kasey of Gallifrey
Summary: Told from Eugene's perspective - starting from where the movie left off, this is the tale of Eugene and Rapunzel's lives as they lived "happily ever after." Technically a sequel to my other story, but this could probably also stand alone. Please review!
1. Prologue

**Hello again! Welcome to my story. As I said in the summary, this is technically a sequel to my other story "My New Dream," though I think that if you've seen the movie, you should be able to understand this without any difficulty. Well, I really haven't got a clue about what to write next, so I'd love some ideas. If there are little things that you'd like to see me include in this story, please review or send me a PM to let me know. Constructive criticism is always welcome, so don't feel bad about correcting errors or giving me feedback.**

**Okay, well anyway, this is basically just a little prologue. The chapters will probably be longer than this later on, so don't be discouraged by how short this is.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Tangled or any of the characters.**

The topic of living "happily ever after" first crossed my mind after a normal day at the orphanage where I'd grown up. Rapunzel and I had started visiting the cozy building shortly after our marriage. She was supportive of my desire to help out all the kids there. I knew what it was like to feel alone, abandoned and misunderstood, and I really didn't want any of the little ones to turn to a life of crime like I had (although I couldn't deny that those years of my life had been extremely thrilling).

So Rapunzel and I would pop over when the kingdom wasn't demanding our full attention. She would go off with all the young girls doing whatever young girls do, and I would pull out the book still hidden under the floorboards beneath my old bed. The boys would all make excited, eager noises as they glimpsed the cover. In gold, loopy writing, the title shone brightly in the afternoon sun: _The Tales of Flynnigan Rider_.

Each time we visited the orphanage, I would read another one of the short stories contained within the book. After about a year of trips, though we could only stop by once or twice a month, I found myself reading the very last narrative.

"And, with his sword on his hip, his money in his satchel, and lightness in his heart, Flynnigan Rider left that town for the last time. He hopped on his horse and rode off into the distance with the setting sun shining at his back," I concluded.

"What happened next?" one of the younger boys asked eagerly. His name was something like Timmy or Jimmy or perhaps Johnny, and he could have been no older than six years old.

I was about to tell Timmy-Jimmy-Johnny that nothing happened next, that the story was over, but then Rapunzel and the little girls trotted back into the room. They hovered by the doorway, waiting for me to finish up.

"Well," I told the kid, my eyes fixed on Rapunzel the whole time, "you see, Flynnigan Rider met a girl."

"A _girl_?" another boy asked, his face scrunching up in disgust. He was still at the girls-all-have-cooties-and-are-really-icky stage in his childhood.

I nodded. "But not just any girl. She was the most beautiful girl he'd ever seen. She had big green eyes that sparkled when she smiled, and she was the kindest and most generous person in the world. She made him laugh, made him _better_, and he settled down with her."

"But didn't he want to have adventures anymore? You can't take a girl on adventures," the cootie-fearing kid said.

"Oh, no, because Rider realized that being with this girl was just as exciting—no, even _more _exciting—than any of his adventures. And she was so fantastic that she _did _come with when he decided that he wanted to go out and have fun or cause some trouble."

Timmy-Jimmy-Johnny's eyes widened with interest. He seemed completely fascinated by this new development in the story. "So he met the girl…then what?"

This time it was Rapunzel who answered. She had a small smile on her lips as she responded, "Well, then they lived happily ever after."

That was the first time I pondered the concept of "happily ever after." If that was a real thing, then I was sure that I was living it. I was a prince, I had married the most wonderful girl in the world, and there was literally _nothing _in my life that I could complain about. I was in a state of complete, untainted bliss.

Then it struck me: my whole existence was one big fairytale. Everyone always said so, but now the idea seemed much more real. I thought about how we'd gotten to that point, how my life had ended up being so flawless.

I guess it all started after Gothel's death. Rapunzel had saved me, then she had _kissed _me, and after that we had gone to reunite her with her parents. But like I said, that's just how it _started_. So much more happened after that, and all of it led up to what I suppose you'd call my "happily ever after."

Well, there's not much left to say except this: my name is Eugene Fitzherbert, and this is the _rest _of my story.

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><p><strong>Please review! Tell me what you think and please suggest things for future chapters.<strong>


	2. Kindness of the King

I suppose I'll start exactly where everyone else leaves off—the reunion between Rapunzel and her parents.

Well, after the very, very, _very_ emotional hug-session on the balcony, the King finally suggested that we come indoors. There was a lot of catching up to be done, but I was still a bit unsure as to why I was there. I half-expected the Royal Guards to come rushing in at any moment to drag me into a cold, dark, solitary cell so I could rot away and spend the rest of my existence growing increasingly lonely and depressed...As you can probably tell, I had been putting quite a bit of thought into the worst case scenario.

I allowed Rapunzel and her parents to walk through the great double doors first. As soon as they had crossed the threshold, I took a few steps forward, tentative and awkward. Was I supposed to go in or was this a strictly familial meeting? Should I just turn myself over now or did the King want to reprimand me for stealing his daughter first? All those feelings of doubt and uncertainty that I'd pushed away suddenly came bubbling to the surface.

The King caught my eye and paused. He looked at me, and then he smiled. His head was inclined toward the interior of the room, and I understood that this was an invitation for me to enter. I was relieved to say the least. I was fairly certain that I'd have to go to prison either way, but I definitely wasn't in any rush whatsoever. Spending an hour or so with the bonding family might even cheer me up for my inevitable journey to jail.

Well, that one hour of family bonding turned into two, which gradually made it's way toward three. Three full hours of the four of us, each sitting in a ridiculously squishy chair, talking and recounting every pointless or exciting detail of our lives. I found it almost strange that the King and Queen—who I was told to call George and Laurena—were interested in hearing about _my_ life story as well as their daughters. I skimmed over my criminal activities a bit, trying to make everything seem not so illegal; after all, these were not only the people that would decide my fate, but they were also the parents of the girl I loved. I wanted to make a decent impression. Well, as decent as impression as an infamous outlaw can make. I concluded my little biography by telling them about my meeting with Rapunzel. I tried not to gush about how fantastic and beautiful and wonderful and lovely she was too much, but I have to admit, I found that part to be the most difficult.

As the sun began to set outside, marking just how long we'd spent in those excessively cushy chairs, the King stood up and asked to have a word with me in private. He didn't seem angry with me or like a man who was about to sentence a thief to his doom, but rather he looked calm, maybe even a bit amused at my worried expression.

Rapunzel shot me a reassuring smile as her father walked into a different room, holding the door open expectantly. I took a breath before making my way over.

I found myself in a really impressive study. There was a grand, expensive-looking mahogany desk, two very large bookcases that touched the ceiling, and an extremely big portrait of the King and his wife.

"Please, Rider, sit," he told me, gesturing to a chair on one side of the desk. He sat down in the chair opposite me. "Go ahead; don't look so scared."

_Oh great_, I thought wryly as I took a seat. _Apparently I'm not only freaking out, but it's also showing on my face. I'm sure he's _real _impressed with me now._ I quickly reminded myself that he probably couldn't ever be impressed with a convicted criminal, so it was essentially pointless for me to worry about. I then scolded myself for having this internal debate in my head while the King was talking. It was really quite rude of me.

"So, Flynn—," he began.

"Actually, sir, it's Eugene," I interjected, once again mentally chastising myself for my lack of manners. He was the _King _for crying out loud, and here I was, cutting him off mid-sentence.

"I'm sorry, what?" Thankfully, he didn't look bothered by my blatant interruption.

"Flynn Rider was what I went by after I started stealing things," I told him. "My real name is Eugene Fitzherbert. I'm not going by Flynn anymore."

He quirked an eyebrow, his eyes twinkling. "So does this mean that you're not going to be thieving any longer?"

"Yessir, I'm quitting the breaking-the-law business for good."

He looked pleased. This struck me as odd. Why would he be happy that I promised to stop stealing? Surely it shouldn't matter to him. After all, I was going to go to prison whether I reformed or not. Also, it was incredibly difficult to maintain life as a robber from within a jail cell, so it really _shouldn't _have been news to the King that I was quitting.

"Well, _Eugene, _that's wonderful to hear. It would probably look quite unusual for a still-wanted criminal to be living on the castle grounds." He smiled kindly with an unfamiliar fatherly expression on his face.

I furrowed my brow. It was best not to get my hopes up. I mean, what if I had misheard or misunderstood what he was saying? "Um, sir, I don't think I really get what you're trying to say..." I trailed off, struggling to keep my voice even. I wanted to celebrate, but I had to be absolutely _sure _that I had heard him correctly.

The King's grin grew. "I'm saying that, if you're serious about giving up all of your criminal activities, you'd be more than welcome to live here." He paused and added, "Not in the actual castle, of course, but there's a very comfortable cottage out back, and as there's currently no one living there, you'd have the place to yourself." I opened my mouth, and I'm sure my doubt was written across my face, because he went on to explain his reasons for this wonderfully bizarre proposition. "I've seen the way Rapunzel looks at you. She's in love; that much is perfectly clear. But I've also seen how you look at her. It reminds me of the way I looked at Laurena when we first met. I know you may not be the most _legal _citizen around, but you make Rapunzel happy, and I know that you love her. That's really all that's important to me right now."

I opened my mouth a few times, then shut it almost immediately. With my eyebrows still knitted together in an expression of disbelief and confusion, I finally managed to say, "But I'm a very, very _wanted _thief. Your guards have been chasing me non-stop for the past several years. You're just going to _forget _about that?"

Much to my surprise, the King actually chuckled. "It's sad, I know. Those guards have weapons, armor, experience, and the whole kingdom at their disposal, but you just waltz in and take priceless items from right under their noses. It's incredible how long they've been chasing you without coming any closer to catching you." He grinned mischievously and leaned closer, lowering his voice. "Don't tell them this, but sometimes those guys can be absolute _idiots_."

This time I was the one who laughed. I couldn't believe that the King himself actually called his guards "idiots." That had to be the most impressive thing I'd heard him say yet.

"You know, sir, I completely agree with you."

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><p><strong>Review please! As always, suggestions for coming chapters are welcome and encouraged. I need ideas for what you guys want to see come up because I honestly don't know what should come after this. Someone had previously mentioned that I should write them in a new adventure. Do you guys have any ideas about what exactly that should be or would you rather just have a fluffy account of their lives? Be sure to let me know, and don't forget to tell me what you think about this chapter!<strong>


	3. The First Proposal

**Okay, first off, I'd like to say hi to OffMyTea (AKA Alyss). Welcome to the wonderful world of Tangled fanfiction. And yes, I am a massive Doctor Who fan, and I'm proud of it. I'm really glad that _someone _got the reference in my name. I think most people probably assume that Gallifrey is my awkwardly-named hometown.**

**Secondly, I wanted to apologize in advance for the shortness of this chapter. I literally have no idea what should come next in the story. Review or PM me with anything and everything you want to see happen in the coming chapters. Honestly, if there was ever even the slightest thing that you wondered about after the movie ended, let me know. Also, would you guys mind telling me how long you want this story to be? My last one was seemed really long, but I'm not sure if you want it to be that lengthy or if you want it shorter. **

I moved into the cottage that day. It's not like I had a bunch of personal belongings that I had to gather up. Most of the things I owned weren't legally-speaking _mine,_ so I thought it best to leave almost all of my stuff behind. I was starting fresh.

Unfortunately, that meant that all of my clothes were from the personal stash of the royal family. I refused to come out of my cottage for two days because I was adamant about not being seen in any of the garments provided. That's not to say that the King and the male servants were unfashionable; it's just that I can't pull off the I-grew-up-in-a-castle-wearing-poofy-pants look. Trust me, it's not pretty. Finally, after quite a bit of (very masculine and _not _childish) whining, I managed to convince the King to go into town where I would pick out my own outfits. So, thankfully, by the end of the week, I was able to walk out in public without being completely mortified.

It seemed odd at the time to be able to walk through the town as often as I did. I guess I just always assumed that living on castle grounds would make me _bound _to castle grounds. In reality, I had a _lot _of free-time during my first few weeks as a resident of the palace. Rapunzel spent most of her days either making up for lost time with her parents, or being educated on and exposed to the politics of the kingdom. Even with these two things occupying her for hours on end, I was still able to see her at least once a day at dinner.

George and Laurena invinted me to "join them for supper" every single night. I thought it was a bit ridiculous, but they would send down some poor kid to tell me the same thing every day. I once asked them why they didn't just make it a long-standing invitation, and the King jokingly replied, "Well, what if one day I don't _want _you to join us, and you just showed up anyway? That would make things much more awkward." He chuckled.

I knew he wasn't being serious, but that little twinge of self-doubt made itself known all the same.

I soon forgot about my self-conscious moment, however, because immediately after dinner, Rapunzel pulled me aside. She leaned closer to me and whispered, "I love you." She said it like secret, something that was between us and for us alone, like she was afraid someone else would hear this and steal this private intimacy.

That was the first time she'd every openly said that she loved me. Granted, I'd always known (or at least been pretty certain) that this was how she felt, but those three little words hadn't come out until that very moment.

"I love you, too," I mumbled back, pulling her in for a quick kiss.

It hit me again, as it had so often over the past three and a half weeks of my stay in the cottage, that I had to be the luckiest man in the world. Honestly, even Flynnigan Rider would have been jealous if he knew exactly how good I had it. What could possibly be better than that moment, standing there with Rapunzel?

"Marry me?" I asked softly. I'd been thinking about it for awhile now, and there was no one I'd rather be with. Rapunzel was the only one. I'd never imagined myself as the marrying sort of man. No one had ever been special enough to prove this statement to be incorrect. No one until Rapunzel. She was the expection, and I had never been more excited to be wrong in my life.

"Someday," was her response. "I promise."

And that was good enough for me.

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><p><strong>Well, there you have it. Chapter 3, or technically Chapter 2 if you don't count the Prologue. Anyway, let me know how you liked it. Be sure to give me some ideas for chapters to come. Thanks!<strong>

**P.S. I wrote this really quickly and didn't really have a chance to proofread it fully, so don't be afraid to tell me about any mistakes or inconsistencies in my writing. I'll gladly go back and fix them.**


	4. An Unexpected Offer

**Thanks for all the lovely reviews I've gotten so far. Please keep giving me your feedback! **

**Also, I'd like to warn you that I haven't had a solid night's sleep in the past three nights, so I'm a bit...off today. I promise that I've done my best to make this chapter as good as the rest, but if it seems not up to the usual standard, now you know why.**

**Finally, I'm sorry that there's been very minimal fluff in this story so far. I promise I'll make the coming chapters more Rapunzel-and-Eugene-centric.**

**Anyways, allons-y!**

After two weeks of living on the castle grounds, meeting with the royal family for dinner every night, and talking to Rapunzel at least once a day, I allowed myself to relax. To be honest, up until that point, I had been slightly worried that the King would change his mind and decide to toss me in prison. I couldn't say I would blame him. After all, I was a bad guy (albeit a _reformed _bad guy, but still), and he had every right to punish me. That's probably why I kept expecting guards to break down the cottage door and drag me away.

Finally, after fourteen long days of worrying about this, I decided I was probably safe.

A mere ten days later, I had proposed to Rapunzel for the first time. Although she only responded with a vague, "Someday," the idea that the marriage would eventually happen made everything feel so much more permanent. This was also around the time that I decided that permanence was good, very good. I wanted this thing between Rapunzel and I to be _permanent_.

About halfway through my second month in the cottage, I came to the conclusion that one way to ensure that my stay would last would be to do work around the palace. It's true that up until that point I'd done almost nothing to help out. If I wanted to make myself seem useful and therefore desirable to keep around, it seemed like getting a job was necessary.

That's how I found myself, on one fine Tuesday afternoon, walking toward the King's study. Even though I'd gotten pretty comfortable talking with George over the past several weeks, I still absolutely _dreaded _the times when I needed to visit his study. I had a (completely rational) fear that I would walk in on him in the middle of some important meeting or drafting a life-changing law and that he would think I was an idiot for being so incredibly rude. Then he would throw me out of the kingdom and forbid me from seeing his daughter ever again, all because I walked into his study at the wrong time of the day. See, that fear is _completely _rational and absolutely not blown out of proportion at all.

I stared at the wooden door. Was I supposed to knock or just go in? Maybe I should just leave and come back later. That seemed like the best option: turn and run (in a very masculine and not cowardly way).

"Well, Eugene, are you just going to stand there all day or are you going to come in?" George spoke up from the other side of the door.

I guess I forgot to mention this bit of information before, but the King can read minds. Not kidding, it's true.

So, obviously, he was able to hear my (manly) thoughts about running away. That was embarrassing.

I opened the door and walked in. "Hi," I greeted, smiling awkwardly. I took a seat in the chair he gestured to. "I have something that I'd like to talk to you about."

The corners of his mouth twitched upwards. "I figured as much."

I coughed a little, more because I had nothing to say than anything else. "Right, well...I wanted to know if you needed any...help, I guess, around the castle. I feel useless just sitting in the cottage all day. I want to _do _something. I could help the cook, though I'm not very good in the kitchen, or I could—"

"As a matter of fact," the King interrupted, "I think I have just the thing. How would you like to join the Guards?"

My words died in my throat, and my mouth was hanging open stupidly. I promptly snapped my jaw shut and thought about this. An opportunity to be one of the Royal Guards, the very people I'd been outwitting for my whole life—it was certainly an _interesting _offer. I furrowed my brow and responded, "Wouldn't that be a little...awkward? I mean, I've been running from those guys and now you want me to be one of them?"

"Actually, no," George told me. "I want you to be _in charge _of them." He really took joy in taking me by surprise. It was sick, really. Poor little Eugene Fitzherbert bombarded with the unexpected twice in the same conversation. It wasn't fair if you ask me.

"_In charge_?" I repeated, because I literally could think of nothing else to say to that.

George grinned, amusement twinkling in his eyes. "Yes, in charge. Connor Gainey, the present captain of the Guard, is going to be retiring soon, and we haven't been able to find a suitable replacement. I think you'd do quite well in this job. You obviously know how the criminals of this kingdom think, and I must admit that you're much smarter than half of the current officers. Of course, you won't be able to just put on a helmet and call yourself the captain. You're going to have to go through some fairly extensive training, but I guarantee that it'll be worth it."

I listened to this little speech, absorbing every word. A weird feeling washed over me as I realized that the King _trusted _me. He thought so highly of me that he was willing to appoint me Captain of the Royal Guard. That was fantastic. Suddenly, I felt much less like a reformed bad guy and much more like a genuine good one.

I exhaled sharply and grinned a bit. "This may be the first legitimate, _legal _job I've ever had."

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><p><strong>Remeber to review with your thoughts on this chapter as well as suggestions for chapters to come!<strong>


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